


Cleanup on Aisle Sue

by iloveromance



Category: The Middle (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-04-08 09:47:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14102754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iloveromance/pseuds/iloveromance
Summary: A freak accident at the Frugal Hoosier while Sue is home for break from East Indy threatens to ruin her second attempt at “The Year of Sue”. But Sean is determined not to let that happen.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing for "The Middle" and this is very loosely based on two different real-life experiences that I have combined into one.

Standing in the “Better Buy It Now” produce section of the Frugal Hoosier, Sue laughed at the absurd scene that unfolded before her. 

It was normal to see kids much younger than Brick running through the store pushing a shopping cart as though they were competing in the Indy 500 while their parents hurried to catch up with them. It was not, however, normal to see a man her father’s age doing just the opposite; racing through the store pushing a shopping cart followed by kids who laughed uncontrollably. If Sue didn’t know any better, it looked like the man was actually encouraging his kids to misbehave! What would Nancy Donahue think? 

But Sue barely had time to ponder the situation when she realized that the grocery cart was headed in her direction. A look of horror crossed the man’s face as the cart moved over a puddle of red (most likely the juice from one of the apples that Sue knew were way past their expiration date, even by Frugal Hoosier’s standards) and then skidded on the hard floor. The cart made a beeline for a large display of Frugal Hoosier brand laundry detergent; the kind that was sold in a box that was labeled Family Size. The bright orange letters promised that it would last the average family three months. But the Hecks were anything but average. Sue guessed it would last two weeks; three tops. 

The cart crashed into the bottom row of boxes, sending the two foot high display of detergent flying into the air. She closed her eyes and braced herself for the inevitable, praying that it wouldn’t happen. As she had been taught at Orson Junior High, she placed her hands behind her head and bowed, the way she had been taught to do in school in case of a major emergency. Laundry soap falling on one’s head most likely wasn’t what they had in mind, but it was the only defense that she had. 

The boxes kept on coming like a meteor shower of laundry detergent and she did her best to remain standing. But when she felt herself start to fall, she held out her left hand to protect herself. It was a good idea at the time but it proved to be the worst decision ever; or one of them anyway. She thought that the pelting of laundry detergent was over, but suddenly more boxes came crashing down; boxes that finally sent her tumbling to the floor. 

The pain was excruciating and she cried out for her mom, even though she had no idea where her mother was. She could hear voices around her and felt people touching her arms and her shoulders. 

“Are you all right?” 

“Can you talk, Miss?”

“Can you sit up?”

“What happened here?”

The voices were getting louder and louder and she just couldn’t concentrate. The room started to spin and her arm hurt so badly that she began to cry. 

“Mom…”

A gentle hand moved through her hair and then to her back. “Oh my God Sue, what happened?”

She tried to lift her head but it was nearly impossible. She had a headache the size of Terre Haute and the pain in her arm was bigger than the state of Texas. 

“Sue, talk to me, please! Sue!” 

She’d never heard her mother quite so concerned before. “Sue, please!”

Like an answered prayer, she lifted her head and looked at her mom’s face through blurry eyes. “Mom?”

“Yes, honey it’s me. Oh God, what happened here? What happened?”

“I-I don’t know… I-.”

“Here, get up, all right? Can you stand?”

She held out her right hand to allow the people around her to help her to her feet. Her mother’s arms were around her holding her tight. 

“Sue, thank God! What happened? What happened?” 

A man; the one who had been running through the store pushing the grocery cart grinned sheepishly. “It was my fault, ma’am.”

“What do you mean it was your fault? What did you do to my daughter?”

“Um, nothing, I just-.”

“We were racing!” The kids screamed, jumping up and down. “Do it again, Daddy! Knock something else over!” 

He turned to them and glared. “I’ll knock you over if you don’t knock it off, all right?”

Frankie’s eyes widened. “Wait a minute. You did this?”

“Yeah, but it was just an accident.”

“Accident my a-.”

“Don't swear in front of my kids, all right?.”

“Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me? It's all right for you to act like an idiot in a grocery store and injure my daughter, but I can't swear in front of your son?”

"I don't want them to pick up bad habits." The man said. 

"Oh my God, you're worse than the Glossners!"

"Who?"

"The-oh, never mind.Will someone please tell me what happened here?"

“Daddy knocked over all of those boxes!” The kids shouted. “And they fell on that girl. Boy did she cry!” 

“I did not!” Sue said, putting her hand over her face in an attempt to stop the store from spinning. 

“How dare you!” Frankie shouted. “You just wait till my lawyer hears about this! I’ll sue you for everything you’ve got!”

The nervous manager shuffled his feet. “Ma’am, perhaps we can make it up to you another way. How about three day old bread or not-quite stale cereal? Our treat!”

“Like hell! Come on Sue, let’s get out of here!” Frankie said. But when she grabbed Sue’s left arm, Sue cried out in pain. 

“Oh, Sue, I’m sorry I-Honey what’s wrong?”

Sue clutched her wrist with her hand. “Oh God, it hurts, Mom! It hurts so badly!” She sobbed. 

“Oh great, now look what you’ve done!” She shouted. “Come on, Sue. Let’s get you to the hospital.”

They left without paying for their groceries, because in all the excitement, Frankie forgot to bring their cart to the front of the store to check out. And as they walked out of the store, Sue continued to sob. She never wanted to see another grocery cart as long as she lived. 

She wished she’d never offered to go to the Frugal Hoosier with her mom. The Year of Sue was ruined forever.


	2. Chapter 2

The car pulled out of the Frugal Hoosier parking lot with a screech and Frankie drove like mad through the streets of Orson. Sue hung on for dear life as best as she could, but it wasn't easy with only one hand. As the car squealed and skidded around a corner (going much faster than the normal speed limit), Sue fell against the left side of the seat, crying out in pain as her left arm hit the armrest. Never before had she experienced such pain. But when she saw cars passing them on both sides, she began to panic.

"Mom, can't you drive any faster?" She pleaded. "Oh God, it hurts!"

Frankie looked at Sue with a worried brow. "I know, honey. I know. I promise we'll be at the hospital soon, all right? Just… try to think of something happy, okay? Can you do that for me?"

"I-I'll try." Sue replied. She squeezed her eyes shut and thought hard, trying to ignore the excruciating pain that shot through her left arm. But when she glanced at her wrist, her eyes widen at the sight. Her arm had turned purple and was swollen to twice its normal size.

"Mom!" She yelled. "Please hurry!"

"I'm going as fast as I possibly can, all right?" Her mom shot back.

Sue wanted to cry because her mother was being mean to her, but the pain overshadowed anything that Frankie Heck might have said.

"Just hold on!"

"I don't think I can!" Sue cried.

"Yes you can! How many things have you tried out for?"

"Oh, I don't know. A lot."

"And have you ever given up?"

"No."

"That's right and do you know why?"

"I-."

"Because the Sue Heck I know NEVER gives up, am I right?"

"Well, yeah, but-."

"And you're not going to give up on me now, are you?"

"No…"

"Now concentrate, Sue. Think of something pleasant."

Sue closed her eyes again and tried with all her might. "Um, okay… Let's see… Rainbows, bunnies, kittens… Oh! Pink, purple…jingles..."

"That's it, Sue! Keep going! We're almost there!"

Sue thought as hard as she could but all she could think about was how badly her arm hurt. Even thoughts of pink and blue sparkly binders didn't make the pain go away. And she feared that nothing ever would.

Without warning the car came to a halt and she was thrown foreword. Luckily she was wearing her seatbelt. She wouldn't dream of being in a car without it but now she was even more grateful that she always opted for safety. Her mother's cooking was bad but it was nothing compared to her driving.

"We're here. Come on, Sue."

Even with her mother's help it took Sue longer than normal to get out of the car and even longer to get her mom to stop freaking out. Once Sue's feet were on the ground, Frankie seemed to have forgotten that she was there. Sue watched Frankie rush past her, through the sliding doors and into the ER. She hurried to catch up to her mom, but it wasn't easy. When at last she reached the lobby, she gasped in horror at the sight of her mom. Frankie was standing at the empty front desk, banging wildly on the counter.

"Come on people!" she shouted. "There has to be someone working in this place! This is a hospital for God's sake! What is wrong with you all?"

"Mom!"

Frankie turned around and went to her, draping her arm around Sue's shoulders. She then guided Sue to the front desk just as a stern looking heavyset woman approached. She was wearing scrubs with panda bears on it and for a moment Sue wished that she had some. They would look so cute with her blue pants.

"Well it's about time you showed up! Where have you been?" Frankie yelled, causing heads to turn.

The woman put her hands on her hips and glared at them. "Ma'am you're creating a scene!"

Frankie's eyes widened and Sue gasped. That was the wrong thing for anyone to say to Frankie Heck.

"Oh you haven't seen a scene yet, lady! If you want a scene, I'll give you a scene! I'm going to sue you with everything I-."

"Mom!" Sue grabbed Frankie by the arm with her right hand. It was humiliating enough being in the ER because of a grocery store accident, but having her mom because a scene was even worse.

"All right, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well for starters, it's-."

Sue winced as the searing pain shot through her arm, reminding her why they were there; as though she needed a reminder. "Oh, my arm!"

The woman, meanwhile, thrust a clipboard at Frankie. "Here, fill these out and someone will be with you soon."

But Frankie was undeterred. "Are you kidding me? Are you freaking kidding me? My daughter is in pain and you want me to fill out paperwork?"

"Ma'am if you'll just-."

"I want to see the manager! Right now!" Frankie demanded.

"Mom, hospitals don't have-."

"Okay, wait here."

The woman returned several very long moments later with a grey haired man in tow. He was rather handsome, with glasses and a heart-shaped face.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Reynolds, Chief of Staff. What seems to be the problem?"

"My daughter is in excruciating pain and this… incompetent woman is denying us service!"

Dr. Reynolds looked stunned, as did Sue. She never imagined her mother would lie … to a doctor of all people! That was almost as bad as lying to Reverend Tim Tom.

And no matter how many times Frankie denied doing so, Sue knew that they didn't have to go out of town during Orson Family Sunday a few months ago. Frankie only said that so that she could sleep in. And the worst part was that Reverend Tim Tom believed her!

But this…

"Mom…"

"I'm sorry to hear that, ma'am. We at Orson General would never deny anyone service. We are a family owned hospital. Have been for over 80 years."

"Right, right... Spare me the history lesson and take care of my daughter, okay? Her arm is broken, or at least I think it is."

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We'll take care of it right away."

"Sue, go with the doctor, all right?"

Sue held up her right hand. "Just a second. We'll be right back." She led Frankie to a row of hard seats in the waiting area.

"Mom, I'll be fine now, as long as the pain will stop soon. I-Ow…"

"Oh Sue…"

"It's fine, really. I just…" She picked up a nearby magazine and glanced at the cover. It was a People Magazine with The Bachelor on the cover; a handsome man wearing a black tuxedo holding a red rose. It was just the thing to calm her mother down, if only for a few minutes.

"Here, read this. I'll be back soon, I hope."

Frankie did as Sue asked and sank into the chair. She glanced at Dr. Reynolds and sighed. "Just… take good care of my daughter, all right?"

"You have my word, ma'am. Follow me, Miss..."

"Heck... Sue Heck."

"All right Miss Heck don't worry. We'll get you all fixed up in no time."

As Sue followed Dr. Reynolds down the hallway, she glanced back at her mother, praying that everything would be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

In the emergency room waiting room, Frankie flipped through the pages of the People Magazine that featured the Bachelor on the cover. She wanted to immerse herself into the life of Arie Luyendyk and the many women that he had to choose from. All of them were beautiful of course, but Valerie was by far the best fit for him.

She was well-educated, funny and had an incredible sense of style. She and Arie were perfect for each other. Any idiot could see it. She just hoped that the producers of the show (and Arie) saw it too.

She wondered, not for the first time, what Arie and Valerie's children would look like. Certainly they would be the most beautiful children ever born (except for Frankie's kids of course. Yes, even Brick was a beautiful baby, once they met him, that is. She shuddered, wishing that they had never told Brick that horrible story. What kind of mother brings home the wrong baby from the hospital? And what kind of mother allows her middle child- her only daughter-to suffer a serious injury in the Frugal Hoosier of all places?

Angrily she threw the magazine across the room, not caring if anyone was around. If anyone had seen her and insisted that she pay for the magazine, she'd do it without question. But now all she could think about was her daughter and how much pain Sue was in when they left the store. No, she wouldn't cry. She refused to. It wasn't worth crying. Sue would be fine.

Her hand trembled as she fumbled to push the button on her cell phone. It rang repeatedly, making her more nervous with each ring.

"Come on, answer. Someone's got to be home." She muttered.

"Hello?"

"Axl?"

"Yeah. Mom? Where are you?"

She paused, wondering if she should tell her eldest son what had happened. Oh, it didn't matter anyway. He was going to find out sooner or later. Might as well be sooner.

"I'm at the hospital."

"Axl laughed. Mom, I told you not to drive so fast! What did you do, run over a family of ducks or something?"

She clinched her teeth, biting back a swear word. Was it okay to swear in a hospital? She wasn't sure. People prayed in hospitals, so why should it be any different than church? She made a mental note to ask Reverend Tim Tom.

"Axl is your dad there?"

"Yeah, he's here somewhere. But you never told me-."

"It's not me, all right? It's Sue. There was… an accident."

There was a slight pause. "Really."

"Yes, really. So please Axl, go and get your dad, okay?"

"What did the dork do now? She's always tripping and falling all over the-."

"Axl, Sue is not a dork! Just go, all right?"

The phone clanged on the counter and she heard Axl yelling in the distance. "DAD! Mom wants to talk to you! Something about the dork getting into an accident."

The volume on the television lowered and then she heard footsteps and Mikes's voice in the distance. "An accident? What sort of accident? And Axl do not call your sister a dork, all right? Now what sort of accident?"

No response which meant that Axl shrugged. She knew her kids too well.

"Hello?"

"Mike?"

"Yeah, what's this about an accident?"

"It's not me, I'm fine."

"Well, I kind of gathered that from what Axl said. So what happened?"

Frankie sighed deeply. "It's Sue. I wasn't there to see it, but there was a, well a sort of freak accident at the Frugal Hoosier."

"What sort of accident? Oh God, please don't tell me that you wrecked the car again! I told you over and over, you have to shift into-."

"I know how to drive, Mike! This is our daughter I'm talking about!"

Mike uttered something she couldn't quite hear and then said "Oh man… She's a good driver, but Frankie, Sue did take six tries to get her license. Maybe-."

"It happened IN the store, Mike! And it wasn't Sue's fault!"

"So what happened?"

"A tower of laundry detergent boxes fell onto her head and she fell onto the floor. She's in with the doctor now."

"What? How could you let something like this happen?"

"Me? Why are you blaming me? I was shopping for canned goods and Sue said she wanted to go to the Produce department to get some fruit. The next thing I know she's screaming for help. I ran over there and she had fallen underneath a ton of laundry detergent boxes!"

"Laundry detergent isn't that heavy, Frankie. You could have taken care of her at home."

"They were Family Size, Mike!"

Another pause. "Oh… Well, is she going to be all right?"

Frankie began to sob. "I don't know, Mike! She was crying like crazy, calling for her mother and-and-then…"

"Okay, Frankie, just calm down. You know what to do; cry then talk." Mike said. But Frankie couldn't do either. She just continued to wail.

"Frankie? Frankie? Look, just… stay there. The kids and I will be there in a few minutes, all right?"

Frankie nodded. "Mmm Hmmm…"

"All right, if Sue comes out of the… well wherever she is, just tell her… tell her we'll be there soon, okay?"

"O… Okay…" Frankie wailed. She hung up the phone and glanced at the floor where the People Magazine lay. She just hoped that Arie Luyendyk and Valerie wouldn't have to go through what she was going through.

The thought was meant to be comforting, but in fact it was not. It only made things worse.


	4. Chapter 4

Her arm was throbbing. Ever since she'd been in the tiny exam room, Sue's arm had been poked, prodded, twisted, turned and everything in between. The pain was excruciating and it was all she could do to keep from crying out when Dr. Reynolds and he doctor who was with him-Dr. Winborough- took x-ray after x-ray. She wanted to tell them how much pain their actions were causing her, but she just couldn't. Not when they were being so nice.

"All right, Sue. Dr. Winborough and I will be right back with the pictures and we'll see what's going on."

She nodded at Dr. Reynolds, unable to speak. When the two doctors were gone, she sat alone in the small room. She tried to concentrate on something; anything other than the pain she was feeling, but the effort was impossible. There were a few magazines scattered about and when one caught her eye, she picked one up and began to thumb through it. Or at least she tried anyway. How was it possible for something as simple as turning the page of a magazine to hurt so badly? In frustration, she threw the magazine across the room but even that was agonizing. And so as she sat alone in the small room, all she wanted to do was cry.

However she barely got a chance to do anything when the door opened and in walked Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Winborough. Dr. Reynolds' expression was unreadable and she watched in fear as he turned on the light on the small bag that hung on the wall.

"Okay Sue, we have the results of your x-rays. Did you want me to get your mom so that she can be in here with you?"

Of course she wanted her mom. She wanted her mom so badly! But she was in college and college students didn't need their parents. Or at least they weren't supposed to. She wanted to say yes more than anything in the world, but instead she blurted out;

"No, it's all right."

"Okay then. Well, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

Sue sighed. She was definitely used to hearing bad news. It seemed to follow her family around wherever they went. But some good news would be nice. What harm would it do to hear the good news first? She plastered on a smile. "The good news, please."

Dr. Reynolds smiled. "All right. Well, the good news is that your fall wasn't serious. Well, not too serious anyway. I think we can rule out surgery, although there may be a possibility-."

Sue's eyes widened. This was the good news? "Surgery?"

Dr. Reynolds went on, but she had no idea what he was saying. Her head was swimming and all she wanted to do was-well, she'd rather be doing anything to her than sitting in a hospital exam room.

"What's your favorite color?"

Her head shot up. "What?"

"Your favorite colors. If you have to wear a cast on your arm for eight weeks, it might as well be pretty to look at, right?"

She couldn't believe it. "Eight weeks?"

"Don't worry. It will be over before you know it and you'll be as good as new. So about those colors…"

She couldn't think. Every color of the rainbow ran through her head (oh how she loved rainbows), but she couldn't think of the name of a single one. What was wrong with her? But suddenly she remembered….

"Pink." She blurted out. "A-and purple."

"Cool. Those will look great!" Dr. Reynolds said with just a bit too much enthusiasm. "Now, I'm just going to-."

He continued speaking but she had no idea what he was saying. The next thing she knew she was alone in the room again, but not for long. The two doctors returned with rolls of what looked like tape and something that looked like gauze. The sight terrified her.

"Now, just relax." Dr. Winborough said. "This won't hurt a bit."

"It already does." She muttered.

"What?"

"Um, nothing."

"All right, just hold your arm like this as still as you can and we'll have this on in no time." He moved her arm gently, but she cried out in pain.

"I'm sorry, I know that hurts. I'll prescribe some pain medication for you to control that."

Dr. Winborough opened a small package of the pink tape and slid the gauze onto her arm. And then after applying a thin layer of cotton, he and Dr. Reynolds went to work wrapping the pink and purple tape around her arm. The cast went clear up to her forearm and she wondered how she was going to walk to her classes and carry her books with her arm bent at the waist and covered in a cast.

"All right, Sue. Why don't you take a look?"

She opened her eyes, not even realizing that she had closed them earlier, and gasped at the sight of the pink and purple cast on her arm. It certainly was colorful.

"Do you like it?"

"Um, yeah, it's…" Her voice trailed away.

"Is something wrong?"

"Actually I have a question."

"Of course."

"Um, how am I going to carry my books around school? And all of my after-school activities? I have No-Cut Acapella and I have to hold the music for everyone and-."

"Oh, I'm afraid you won't be able to go to school for a while. That would be the bad news."

Her mouth fell open in shock. "What?"

"Well, this injury is pretty serious, although not serious enough for surgery and the best thing for you to do is to get as much rest as possible. You don't want to risk injuring it further."

"No-N-N-N-N-No, I can't! I have to go to school! You don't understand!School is my life! I'm popular there! I have friends! I'm in almost every club that East Indy has! I-."

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid you'll have to tell them you won't be around for a while."

"No! I can't! I…"

Dr. Reynolds touched her back and gave her a gentle smile. "Is there anything I can get you?"

Sue's lower lip began to tremble and her chest hurt. And then she said the only thing she really wanted to say.

"I want my mom!"


	5. Chapter 5

Frankie was still sulking in the lobby, finding some solace from a text conversation with Nancy Donahue. She had no idea why she told Nancy about things that happened in the Heck household (and beyond). The story was bound to spread like wildfire around the neighborhood and once again they'd be the laughing stock of the next block party. But it shouldn't come as a surprise. Frankie was more than used to it.

With a sigh she put down her magazine and picked up her phone. Perhaps a game of Candy Crush would take her mind off of her troubles. The thought made her laugh out loud. It was going to take a lot more than pushing buttons to send digital candy flying around a tiny screen to make her forget about what had happened to her daughter.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Heck?"

At the sound of her name, Frankie rose to her feet, her heart pounding when she saw the doctors standing in front of her.

"How is she?"

Dr. Reynolds launched into a lengthy explanation about Sue's condition but Frankie wasn't interested. She just wanted to take her daughter home and put this nightmare behind them; if that was possible.

"… Do you understand, Mrs. Heck?"

She looked up, realizing that she hadn't heard a single word that the doctors had said. "What? Oh, yeah. I got it." she lied.

Her answer made Dr. Reynolds smile. "Great. But just in case you forget, I'll give your daughter a printout of instructions."

Frankie's eyebrows rose. "Instructions?"

"You can fill the prescriptions whenever you like, but I'd do it soon. Sue seems to be in a lot of pain."

Her heart sank. "Can I see her?"

"Just wait here, all right?"

Frankie nodded, barely aware that she was once again alone in the waiting room. It was just what she needed, however; time alone to think about what a terrible mother she was.

Her hand trembled as she flipped through a magazine, barely aware of the pictures or words on the pages. She couldn't go on like this. She had to be strong, for herself and for Sue. The entire ordeal was her fault, but she hoped that in time Sue would forgive her.

Musical notes from Prince William and Kate's Royal wedding floated from her purse. She reached for her phone, grateful to have a distraction. But when she looked at the Caller ID, she felt a tinge of guilt at the sight of Nancy Donahue's name. She considered ignoring it and letting Nancy's call go to voicemail but before she could even think, she swiped her finger across the phone's slick surface to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hey Frankie! I hope I'm not bothering you. I know I could have just texted you but I feel that it's better to do this over the phone."

"Do what over the phone?"

"I wanted to know if you'll be participating in our Christmas Eve block party this year!"

"I-I'm sorry, I thought you said Christmas eve."

"Oh, I did!"

"Christmas Eve?" Frankie repeated. "But that's-."

"Months away, I know, but it's never too early to start planning, right?"

"I guess so." Frankie cringed thinking of how she planned on starting Christmas early every year and every December 21st, she considered floating it.

"So can I count you in?"

"I don't know, I-."

"Oh come on, Frankie! It'll be fun!"IO know that Sue will love it! She always-."

The mention of her daughter's name was all that it took for Frankie to break down once again and she was all but oblivious to the sound of Nancy Donahue's voice.

"Frankie? Frankie? Are you there?"

And then it happened. Frankie opened her mouth to speak but when she did, she found herself telling Nancy Donahue every humiliating detail of their ill-fated trip to the Frugal Hoosier and then to the hospital. She expected Nancy to be appalled, but she was surprisingly sympathetic. And her sympathetic voice only made Frankie cry harder. Shew as still holding the phone in her hand when she heard a familiar voice.

"Mom?"

Suddenly Frankie's shattered reputation didn't seem so important anymore.


	6. Chapter 6

The sight of her daughter standing before her nearly broke Frankie’s heart. 

'“Oh Sue!” She went to hug Sue but the moment she wrapped her arms around her daughter, Sue winced in pain. 

“Mo-o-om…!” Sue whimpered. 

“I-I’m sorry, honey.” Frankie said, taking a step back. “I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

“I know, but it does hurt, Mom. It hurts a lot!” 

Suddenly Frankie remembered. “Damn, the prescription. Here we’d better go to the pharmacy and get this filled. I-.”

She stared at Sue, startled by how small she suddenly looked. Sue had always been the strong one, but now she seemed small and vulnerable, despite the bright pink and purple cast wrapped around her arm. Frankie had watched enough Hallmark movies and had read enough self-help books to know that it was  
always better to remain positive in situations such as this one. She plastered on a smile as her arm moved back to the large cast that covered Sue’s arm, almost all the way up to her shoulder. It was held in place by a sling made of cloth; a very expensive sling, no doubt. Nothing in a hospital was ever cheap. But she wasn’t going to think about that now. 

“Oh wow, look at you! Pretty fancy, huh?”

Sue looked up in surprise. “Huh?”

“Your cast! Wow, I‘ve never seen a pink and purple one before! How cool!” She knew she was overdoing it big time but she really didn’t care.

“I guess.”

“You know what? Your friends are going to be green… well, pink and purple with envy when they see your arm!”

She expected Sue to smile, but instead her mouth fell open. “You mean they’ll wish that they had fallen down in the Frugal Hoosier too?”

“No, honey, I didn’t mean that at all. I just meant-Oh you know what, don’t worry about them, all right? But wow, pink and purple? Back in my day if someone broke their arm or leg they just got a boring old white cast!”

This made Sue smile. “Really?”

“Oh yeah, absolutely!”

Sue squealed with delight. “Cool!”

“Very! Now let’s get this prescription filled and go home. I think we both need to relax.

Sue didn’t look convinced. And relaxing, as it turned out, wasn’t in the cards. 

******

“Okay ma’am. That will be two twenty five twenty six.” The pharmacist flashed a broad smile at her and handed Frankie as small white paper bag. 

Frankie’s hand froze on her wallet. “That was twenty five twenty six, right?”

“Um, no ma’am. It’s two twenty five twenty six.”

“Excuse me? Two hundred twenty five... is hat dollars?”

The pharmacist burst out laughing. “Well it ain’t cents!”

“Two hundred dollars?” Frankie repeated. “For pain medication? Are you freaking kidding me?”

The pharmacist shrugged. “That’s how much it costs. Take it or leave it.”

 

“But that’s impossible! I-I showed you my husband’s insurance card! And mine! Well, his is much better than mine but surely between the two of us… look, can you please run it through with the insurance?”

“Actually that is the price after insurance.”

“What?”

“Sorry. Drugs are expensive.” 

“Can’t you cut us a break?” Frankie pleaded. “My daughter is in severe pain and trust me, aren’t rich at all. In fact we barely have enough money to send our kids to college… or to eat for that matter. Don’t you get it?”

“Sorry ma’am.”

“Sorry?” Frankie yelled. “Sorry? That’s all you can say? Sorry? Sorry? My daughter is in agonizing pain and all you can say is sorry? Don’t you understand? We can’t afford-”

“Mom-.”

At the touch of Sue’s hand on her arm, Frankie turned around. 

“What is it?”

“It’s okay.”

“What is?”

“I’ll just deal with the pain, all right? It’s a lot of money and we don’t have it, so let’s just buy some Frugal Hoosier Aspirin or-.”

“No, there is no way we are ever going back into that store! Not after what they did to you!” 

“But Mom-.”

“Look, we’ll figure something out.”

“No, I’ll pay for it.” Sue said. “I have a credit card, but I can’t-.” She struggled in a poor attempt to open her purse, but the effort caused her to cringe in pain again. “Mom, can you take my purse, please?”

Frankie’s heart went out to her daughter. Damn, how could she have been so selfish? 

“Sue, I-.”

“Please?”

Frankie took Sue’s purse and held it in her hands. “Now what?”

“There’s a credit card in my wallet.”

Curious as to where Sue could have possibly gotten a credit card, Frankie opened Sue’s purse and found her white wallet with the rainbow stripe across it. Sure enough, there in the front slot was a credit card. She pulled it out and glanced at it, surprised to see the East Indiana State logo on the front. 

“Sue-.”

“Look, I know that I’m too young to have a credit card and I’m sorry that I didn't tell you about it before. They were offering them at school and I thought I’d give it a try. I never believed they’d actually send me one and I wasn’t going to use it at all except in major emergencies, but now-.”

As Sue went on and on, Frankie realized that there was nothing more important than her family’s health. She pulled out her checkbook and quickly wrote out a check to pay for the medication. 

“Mom, you didn’t have to do that!” Sue said as they walked out of the pharmacy.

In the hallway, Frankie stopped and hugged her daughter as gently as possible. “Well, I wanted to.”

Sue hugged Frankie to the best of her ability. “I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too. Now let’s go home.”


End file.
